Dr. Wrestling:Royal Rumble

The road to Wrestlemania is set to begin this Sunday at WWE’s annual Royal Rumble and the card is extremely unquie to say the least. I expect many of the fueds that will culminate at Wrestlemania to be sparked at the Rumble and should give an idea fo what we will see at the biggest event of the year. As always, I will discuss the matches and predict the winners so let’s get started.

Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool vs. Mickie James is a match that I expect to be solid, however, it seems fairly obvious that McCool will retain the title, considering that Mickie James is expected to finish up with WWE soon to pursue a singing career. That being said, it seems as though the WWE is repaying Mickie for all her hard work during her WWE career by degrading her character in the WWE before she leaves the company. The WWE has done things like this before, with Lita being a prime example and for them to do the same to Mickie after all that she has contributed to the WWE women’s division is ridiculous. Hopefully, before Mickie does actually leave the company, the WWE will actually do the right thing and give her the proper send off that she deserves for her contributions to the WWE.

ECW Champion, Christian vs. Ezekiel Jackson is a match that doesn’t really have too much steam compared to some of the other storylines involved with the PPV, which is probably due to ECW as a whole not being too relevant so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this match gets lost in the shuffle and seems rather unimportant in the big picture of the overall show. It could be a decent match, but I’m not exactly expecting too much from it. As for a winner, I’ll pick Christian to retain the title, mostly because he still has star power and popularity despite being stuck on the ECW brand so in my view, one of the ways the WWE can validate his star power to keep the title on him.

Sheamus vs. Randy Orton is an extremely unquie match up because it’s the first time in recent memory that two major heels were set for a title match at a major PPV. Despite what some might say, I think it’s a wise decision for the WWE to put such a match together because it’s something different, which creates some intruge about the match. Sheamus just won the title last month and he hasn’t been directly featured on Raw since his title win aside from a main event against John Cena this past week so I think it would be a good decision for the WWE to have Shameus retain the title for at least another month, but what will the WWE actually do for the title match? I have to pick Shaemus to retain because the Randy Otron/Ted Dibiase feud has been set in motion and it could possible set up a match at Wrestlemania, but considering the terrible title match Orton was in at Wrestlemania last year, I don’t think the WWE would book him in another title match this year so I doubt he will win the title at the rumble.

On the other end of the spectrum, there’s Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio as two faces set in a title match and at least on paper, it seems like it could be a great match. There have been continuous reports that The Undertaker is wrestling with injuries, which could really effect the match and when you consider how hit or miss Rey has been in the ring these past few years, the match seems as though it could be a show stealer or the time when you go to the kitchen to get another can of Coca Cola and some pizza. That being said, if Rey is on his game and injuries don’t hinder The Undertaker, you can expect an entertaining match. As for a winner, I have to say The Undertaker will retain the title because as we all know, the WWE is setting up The Undertaker vs. HBK for the title at Wrestlemania, which should be a great match.

The Royal Rumble match should create some good back and fourth action, which should translate into an entertaining main event at the PPV, but who wins to get a shot at the title at Wrestlemania? Will HBK get the shot to directly set up a rematch with The Undertaker? It’s possible, but then again it seems too obvious. CM Punk has been regulated to a mid card act so it doesn’t seem like he will win the match. It’s been reported that John Cena has some type of neck injury and with his near future somewhat uncertain, it doesn’t seem like the WWE would be willing to gamble a main event spot at Wrestlemania. What about Triple H? We all know that he has a spot reserved in the main event every year so maybe the actually question for this siutation is not if, but how will Triple H find his way into the main event at Wrestlemania? Will it be winning the Rumble? Will it be an Elimination Chamber match? Will it be a random match? They are all possibilities but sadly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Triple H wins the Royal Rumble so I will pick Triple H to win the Royal Rumble and probably win the title at Wrestlemania. Surprise, no one could have expected it but it will probably happen and at least one title match at Wrestlemania will be disappointing if Triple H wins a title. More specifically, if Shaemus is being built up as a monster heel only to job to Triple H at Wrestlemania then they are wasting Shaemus push to the title.

Overall, the Royal Rumble seems to be a good card and could be a very entertaining show so I hope that everyone that watches the PPV enjoys it.